Opera acquires mobile advertising firm

Acquisition is expected to boost the firm's mobile-based monetisation services

Opera wants to take advantage of the growth in mobile browsing

Opera Software has acquired mobile advertising firm AdMarvel as part of a long-term strategy to boost revenue growth.

The web browsing developer paid $8m (£4.9m) in cash for the Californian ad company, with another $15m (£9.2m) due upon completion of financial targets over the next two years.

AdMarvel developed systems that manage how ads are delivered to mobile phones, which Opera intends to offer ad monetisation as part of its own range of mobile products and services.

“In our fast-growing industry, mobile advertising represents an interesting long-term revenue opportunity.

Every month, nearly 50 million people access the web using Opera on their mobile phones and together with AdMarvel, we think we can play an important role in the evolution of mobile advertising,” says Opera chief executive Lars Boilesen.